Ministry of Education: "Consulting with Ministry of Health and Welfare on 'Medical Licensing Exam Postponement'... Medical School Expansion Procedures Must Proceed First" (Comprehensive)

"Recruitment Process Halted, Causing Confusion in Schools"
Ministry of Education: "This Week Is a Critical Moment"

The Ministry of Education referred to this week, when the court's ruling on the medical school quota increase is expected, as a "critical juncture" and stated that it will discuss measures to prevent medical students from failing, such as postponing the national medical licensing exam, based on proposals submitted by each university. The ministry also explained that even if the court dismisses the case, it will prioritize proceeding with the revision process of the university admission plan to increase medical school quotas.

Ministry of Education: "Prioritizing Admission Plan Procedures Amid Field Confusion"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Shim Min-cheol, Director of Talent Policy Planning at the Ministry of Education, held an emergency briefing with the Ministry of Health and Welfare at the Government Complex Sejong on the 13th. In response to the question, "If the Supreme Court does not make a separate request, will you proceed with the medical school quota increase procedure without waiting for the ruling?" he said, "It is impossible to predict when the Supreme Court's request will come," and stated as such.

The court is expected to decide around the 16th or 17th whether to suspend the effect of the quota increase (accept), determine that the lawsuit does not meet the requirements (dismissal), or reject the application (dismissal). Initially, universities planned to finalize the implementation plan by the end of May after review and approval by the Korea Council for University Education.

Director Shim said, "There was a request before the Seoul High Court's decision, so the procedure was halted," adding, "As of now, the admission implementation plan related to medical schools has not been finalized, causing considerable confusion among schools, examinees, and parents during the university admission process." He further stated, "We plan to confirm and judge the relevance with the Supreme Court later."

Earlier, Koo Yeon-hee, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, said at the ministry's regular briefing that "this week seems to be a bit of a critical point," adding, "Whatever decision the court makes, it is highly likely that the decision will be binding. The decision this week holds very significant meaning in many respects." This week, from the 13th to the 17th, is expected to be the period when the court will issue a ruling on the injunction request regarding the increase in medical school quotas.

Ministry of Education: "Discussing Postponement of National Exam" vs Ministry of Health and Welfare: "No Review"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Ministry of Education intends to explore various measures, including postponing the national medical licensing exam, to prevent medical students from failing. Spokesperson Koo said, "So far, 37 universities have submitted academic operation plans to prevent medical student failure," adding, "Some of these universities have proposed postponing the national medical licensing exam, and if necessary, we will consult with the Ministry of Health and Welfare."

However, she explained that since academic operations to prevent medical student failure are governed by school regulations, it is difficult for the ministries to create uniform guidelines. Spokesperson Koo said, "The law only stipulates that the school year must be at least 30 weeks; everything else is left to school regulations, which vary by school and grade," adding, "There are limits to the Ministry of Education issuing uniform guidelines."

Regarding concerns that flexible academic operations to prevent medical student failure might lower the quality of education, she responded, "It is difficult to definitively say that the quality of instruction will decline." Spokesperson Koo said, "It is true that students' class burdens will increase as classes are likely to be held intensively without vacations or weekends," and added, "It would be good if students return to school quickly and express their opinions."

Regarding allegations of "special treatment" for relaxing academic operations only for medical schools, Spokesperson Koo emphasized, "This has nothing to do with special treatment." She said, "This is not a normal situation, and there are students who want to attend classes but cannot. Since those students should not suffer, we are exploring various measures within the scope of the law to help students as much as possible," adding, "In 2003, during the risk of failure at Dongduk Women's University, the government and universities flexibly operated academic affairs to prevent failure."

However, in the afternoon briefing, the Ministry of Health and Welfare expressed a skeptical stance on postponing the national exam. Jeon Byung-wang, Director of Health and Medical Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "From the Ministry of Health and Welfare's perspective, it is sufficient to graduate in February," adding, "Currently, we are not considering various exceptional situations in detail." In response, Choi Eun-hee, Director of Talent Policy at the Ministry of Education, said, "We have not yet consulted with the Ministry of Health and Welfare," and added, "We will reorganize the matter through various channels and provide guidance on the measures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.